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Effect of seed availability on hoarding behaviors of Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) in semi-natural enclosures

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Published/Copyright: September 9, 2011
Mammalia
From the journal Volume 75 Issue 4

Abstract

Mast seeding is a common phenomenon in many plant species. It is widely believed to be an adaptive strategy for large-seeded plants to escape predation by small rodents. At population level, effects of mast seeding have been well investigated but studies at individual level are still rare. In this study, using semi-natural enclosures, we investigated the effects of seed availability (simulating mast seeding) on seed hoarding behaviors of the Siberian chipmunk Tamias sibiricus on Pinus koraiensis seeds in a temperate forest, northeastern China. We found that T. sibiricus per se tended to disperse and scatter-hoard more seeds of P. koraiensis when provided with high level of seeds. With increase of seed availability, the amount of seed consumption, cache size and seed dispersal distance, cache survival tended to be larger. Our results indicate that mast seeding can benefit seed dispersal and regeneration of P. koraiensis at both individual and population levels.

Keywords: mast seeding; masting-enhanced hoarding hypothesis; seed availability
Corresponding author
Published Online: 2011-09-09
Published in Print: 2011-11-01

©2011 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Original Studies
  2. A test of Allen’s rule in subterranean mammals: the genus Ctenomys (Caviomorpha, Ctenomyidae)
  3. Effect of seed availability on hoarding behaviors of Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) in semi-natural enclosures
  4. Frugivory patterns and seed dispersal by golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil
  5. Abundance of Callicebus barbarabrownae (Hershkovitz 1990),(Primates: Pitheciidae) and other nonvolant mammals in a fragment of arboreal Caatinga in northeastern Brazil
  6. Medium to large-sized mammals in agricultural landscapes of south-eastern Brazil
  7. Distribution, population size and morphometrics of the giant-striped mongoose Galidictis grandidieri Wozencraft 1986 in the sub-arid zone of south-western Madagascar
  8. Selectivity of mammalian predator control in managed hunting areas: an example in a Mediterranean environment
  9. Short Notes
  10. Dense-sampling reveals a complex distributional pattern between the southernmost marsupials Lestodelphys and Thylamys in Patagonia, Argentina
  11. Occurrence of Marmosa waterhousei in the Venezuelan Andes, with comments on its biogeographic significance
  12. High elevation records of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Jalisco, Mexico
  13. The influence of habitat structure on the European brown hare Lepus europaeus food habits in mountainous areas of northern Greece
  14. Sites with reduced predation risk to young hares within an agricultural landscape
  15. Book Reviews
  16. Book reviews
https://doi.org/10.1515/MAMM.2011.041
Keywords for this article
mast seeding; masting-enhanced hoarding hypothesis; seed availability

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Original Studies
  2. A test of Allen’s rule in subterranean mammals: the genus Ctenomys (Caviomorpha, Ctenomyidae)
  3. Effect of seed availability on hoarding behaviors of Siberian chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus) in semi-natural enclosures
  4. Frugivory patterns and seed dispersal by golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) in Una Biological Reserve, Bahia, Brazil
  5. Abundance of Callicebus barbarabrownae (Hershkovitz 1990),(Primates: Pitheciidae) and other nonvolant mammals in a fragment of arboreal Caatinga in northeastern Brazil
  6. Medium to large-sized mammals in agricultural landscapes of south-eastern Brazil
  7. Distribution, population size and morphometrics of the giant-striped mongoose Galidictis grandidieri Wozencraft 1986 in the sub-arid zone of south-western Madagascar
  8. Selectivity of mammalian predator control in managed hunting areas: an example in a Mediterranean environment
  9. Short Notes
  10. Dense-sampling reveals a complex distributional pattern between the southernmost marsupials Lestodelphys and Thylamys in Patagonia, Argentina
  11. Occurrence of Marmosa waterhousei in the Venezuelan Andes, with comments on its biogeographic significance
  12. High elevation records of ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) in Jalisco, Mexico
  13. The influence of habitat structure on the European brown hare Lepus europaeus food habits in mountainous areas of northern Greece
  14. Sites with reduced predation risk to young hares within an agricultural landscape
  15. Book Reviews
  16. Book reviews
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